Rangers finalising deal to sign “clinical” star for £2.5m

The start of Rangers’ competitive season is fast approaching.

In just ten nights’ time, the Gers will commence their Champions League campaign, entering in the second qualifying round, thereby needing to come through three ties to get into the group stages for only the second time since 2010.

So, before that massive tie, will Russell Martin add to his six summer signings?

Rangers looking to add a new winger

In an otherwise generally miserable campaign, Václav Černý starred for Rangers last season, scoring 18 goals in 52 appearances for the club, on target six times during their run to the Europa League quarter-finals, meaning only Bruno Fernandes, Kasper Waarst Høgh and Ayoub El Kaabi bettered his tally in the competition.

The problem though, is the fact that the Czechia international was only on loan from Wolfsburg, and will not be returning, leaving a rather large void in the squad, one that’ll require replacing.

Thus, according to a report by Sky Sports News, Rangers are ‘close to finalising a deal’ to sign Sheffield Wednesday winger Djeidi Gassama.

Manager Martin stated that the deal is “all done at our end”, stating that he “fully expects” the move to be completed “very, very soon”, adding that Gassama provides something “different to what we’ve got”.

Andrew Newport of the Daily Record claims that the 21 year old will cost £2.5m, with controversial Owls’ owner Dejphon Chansiri ‘stalling’ in an attempt to create some sort of bidding war, thereby driving up the price, even though the EFL Championship side are ‘desperate to raise funds’ as they risk going into administration.

Nevertheless, this all suggests a deal will be finalised sooner rather than later.

How Djeidi Gassama will improve Rangers

Gassama first caught the eye playing for Paris Saint-Germain’s youth teams, scoring five goals in eight UEFA Youth League matches for les Rouge-et-Bleu in 2021/22, spending the following season out on loan at Belgian club Eupen, before making a surprise move to Sheffield Wednesday two summers ago.

​​​​​​​ The French youth international scored just 12 goals and registered four assists in 84 appearances for the Owls, but his performances have earned plenty of plaudits.

He was named Supporters’ Player of the Year last season, while writer Kai Watson labelled him “clinical in front of goal”, adding that he is an “exciting player to watch​​​​​​​”, who “loves carrying the ball” and is “capable of producing moments of brilliance​​​​​​​”.

Meantime, analyst John Walker is impressed by his dribbling ability too, stating that supporters should be “very excited” about this addition.

So, let’s assess how his statistics compare to those of Černý.

As the table outlines, Černý’s statistics are universally more impressive than Gassama’s, but there are caveats.

The Czech winger was playing for a dominant team in Scotland, outlined by his touches and touches in the opposition penalty area statistics, while Sheffield Wednesday finished 12th in the EFL Championship.

The encouraging aspect ahead of Gassama’s move to Ibrox is the fact his numbers are very similar to Černý’s, attempting a near-identical number of take-ons per 90, with a similar number being completed, emphasising their stylistic similarities.

Thus, still only 21 years old, he is clearly a high-potential player, and one who could certainly arrive at Rangers and make a big impression.

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